AMNESTY INTERNATIONALPublic Statement
AI Index: MDE 18/011/2004 (Public)
News Service No: 241 30 September 2004Lebanon: Amnesty International
demands independent investigation into death in custody and end to incommunicado detention

Amnesty International is calling upon the
Lebanese authorities to set up immediately an independent investigation into the cause of
death of 31-year-old Isma'il Mohammad al-Khatib who died in incommunicado detention at an
unknown location on 27 September.

The organization is also concerned for the safety
of around 16 Islamist activists who have been held incommunicado at secret locations in
Lebanon following their arrest by Lebanese and Syrian security forces at various locations
in Lebanon. It is feared they may be at risk of torture and ill-treatment to compel them
to incriminate themselves for alleged "terrorist" acts.

Lebanon's Minister of the Interior Elias al-Murr
said Isma'il al-Khatib was among 10 people arrested on 22 September, apparently for
alleged links to al-Qa'eda and an alleged plan to attack the Italian and Ukrainian
embassies, the Palace of Justice and other government security buildings in Beirut. A
further nine people were arrested on similar "security" grounds from 18
September, according to al-Murr and the Lebanese Prosecutor-General 'Adnan 'Addoum, and
are still held in incommunicado detention at unknown locations. Five of those detained are
believed to be Ahmad Salim al-Miqati, Nabil al-Khatib, Nabil 'Abd al-Ghani Jallul, Jamal
Gassem 'Abd al-Wahid and Shafiq Samir al-Banna.

A statement from the Lebanese security forces
about the death in custody of Isma'il al-Khatib said that "al-Khatib was taken ill in
the morning and taken immediately to hospital but he died of a massive heart attack"
said to have been the result of "respiratory complications". However, according
to media reports, family and friends of Isma'il al-Khatib claim that he had been in good
health, and his sister Latifa, who had been held with another sister, An'am, at the same
detention centre until being released on 28 September, said that she had heard Isma'il
screaming in pain from his cell. Security officers reportedly told her that her brother
was suffering from kidney problems and had been given medicine. Isma'il al-Khatib was
buried on 29 September. His family said that his body carried signs of torture on his
face, eyes and feet, including cigarette burns.

Amnesty International believes that an
independent investigation is needed to ensure that justice is done. The authorities must
ensure that such an investigation is prompt, thorough and impartial, and carried out by
investigators independent of the prosecuting authorities and the agencies involved in the
arrest and interrogation of the victim. It must have access to impartial medical or other
experts, as well as to relevant documentation and files. The relevant authorities must
guarantee full cooperation with the investigation. In the meantime, the Lebanese
authorities must stop their practice of detaining alleged security suspects in
incommunicado detention, particularly at unknown locations, where torture and
ill-treatment may be more easily carried out.

The authorities claim that some of those arrested
are connected to the Dhinniyyah group of Sunni Islamist detainees who have been brought to
trial before the Justice Council over the past several years. In May 2003 Amnesty
International issued a report, Lebanon: Torture and unfair trial of the Dhinniyyah
detainees which documents torture, ill-treatment and unfair trial of
"security" detainees. Dhinniyyah detainees were reportedly routinely held for
prolonged periods in fixed positions in underground cells at the Ministry of Defence
Detention Centre, at al-Yarze. They were reportedly tortured including being subjected to
electric shocks and the ballanco (hanging by the wrists which are tied behind the
back) to coerce them to make "confessions". In January 2003, two of the
Dhinniyyah detainees were admitted to Dhahr al-Bashiq Hospital, the same hospital in which
Ismail al-Khatib died, reportedly having sustained serious injuries.